SPORTS MANAGEMENT PEOPLE
I spent most of the time in the control room watching it all unfold on the TV screens Nicky Roche, CEO, Tour de France HUB
T
he Tour de France’s first three stages in England this summer were hailed as the “grandest opening in the race’s history”, by
race director Christian Prudhomme. It is estimated that more than four million people packed the sides of roads during the first three days, which saw the riders travel from York to London. Lavishing praise on the public who lined the roads as well as the English organising team, the Tour de France HUB (TdFHUB), Prudhomme says it is a question of “when, not if” the Tour returns to British shores. The TdFHUB, a subsidiary of UK Sport,
was led by Yorkshire-born Nicky Roche. A keen sports fan, she describes herself as having been a “useful club athlete” during her teenage years. Roche’s journey to lead the TdFHUB demonstrates her passion for sport. While working at the Home Office as a civil servant in 2004, she saw the role of director of sport advertised in The Sunday Times. “I thought it was my ideal job but that I’d never get it,” Roche recalls. “Until the
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DCMS’ permanent secretary, Sue Street, called and encouraged me to go for it. I did and I got it!” At the DCMS, Roche worked closely
with Tessa Jowell and was part of the team that worked on the winning 2012 London Olympic bid. In 2007, she was named a director at the Government Olympic Executive (GOE), where Roche worked closely with all stakeholders – LOCOG, ODA, GLA – and helped shape the Olympic journey from start to finish. Her responsibilities for London 2012 came to an end in March 2013 when the handover to Rio was completed. Soon after, in August 2013, she was appointed as CEO of TdFHUB. Describing her role at the hub, Roche
says the biggest challenge was the time available. “With less than a year to go, I came with an incredibly short amount of time for such a big project - especially as we started pretty much from scratch. “When I arrived the partners –
particularly the local authorities and the transport operators – had already done
The three Le Tour stages in the UK attracted an estimated four million people to cheer the riders on
really good work to start off, but the work was very siloed. In my experience the best way to ensure a successful event is when everything is done by a group of people working as a team – when everyone knows what each other does.” The most rewarding aspect for Roche
was the public’s reaction to the event. “I spent most of the time in the control room watching it all unfold on TV screens, so watching the huge crowds line the route pretty much from start to finish was amazing,” she says. She is also proud of the fact that the
event was delivered by a dedicated team - funded by public money. “I’m very chuffed that this was largely delivered under public sector leadership. The public sector really rose to the challenge!” Details:
www.letour.fr
sportsmanagement.co.uk issue 3 2014 ©Cybertrek 2014
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